Homenaje

A side project of Austin Latin-funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma, Brownout didn’t take long to become a big hitter of a band in their own right. Their version of primarily instrumental, horn-rich jamming out has been equally conversant with both classic metal and hip-hop, borne out by the fantastic tribute records they’d cut later on for both Black Sabbath and Public Enemy. But their debut’s self-penned jams precede and outdo any cover-artist bonafides. For all their forays into dub-worthy echo-chamber dynamics and cross-generational funky psychedelia, they’re great because they’re strongly rooted in the kind of ’70s-steeped Latin funk that dives deep past the obligatory Santana nods to the likes of Malo, El Chicano, Mandrill, and every other speaker-rattler rightly beloved by the Lowrider magazine contingent.